bench press increases

[the_leprechaun]

ok about me
189
male
20 yrs old
18% BF

so i`ve just started BB properly about 3 weeks
for my bench i do 3x 10-12
i started with about 60lbs(for the first week) so i could get used to doing bench presses and learning good form...
im up to about 140 lbs(dont laugh at my feeble lifts!!! in my third week

i was wondering what sort of increses in weight should i be making every week or 2 so as not to over or under train myself
would a 10% increase be too little or too much???

with 140 this week i struggled to get my 3rd set finished...
but it felt good when i did
so should i stay with this weight for awhile??
any help appreciated

 

[Mudge]

If you can add it, its not overtraining. When you are training for strength, if you overtrain the CNS you will lose strength.

It sounds like you are training UNDER your strength, which really serves no purpose other than what you listed, practicing form, or warming up... If you are not challenging the body, you wont make much in the way of gains. So if I can bench 200 pounds, but only work with 100 to avoid overtraining, I am mostly wasting my time.

Kind of like, I'd like to ride my bike, but its dangerous, so I will only ride with training wheels and never go over 5 MPH.

 

[the_leprechaun]

bench

thaks for the response

so i should be increasing every week?? and does 10% sound like a decent figure??

with the 140 i made my 3rd set of 10 but couldn`t do 12..
so should i stick with this weight till i can get the 3rd set of 12 out???
and then move up a weight??

 

[Mudge]

Different people like different rep schemes, but 10 is about the most reps for a bench that I would ever do. If I can hit 10 its too light, for my preference.

Its hard to look at it as a percentage, because if you were benching 500, 10% is 50 pounds. So I just go by a given weight. Plus or minus 50 pounds for anyone, is a big jump.

You can try the below chart, it reads from left to right. For example, if it says 145 on the far LEFT, that is 145x1. 145 for ten reps would be an estimated max of 189. So if I could do 145 for 10 and wanted to do a set of only 8 reps, it looks like I could only add 5 pounds putting me around 150x8. If you look at the MaxCalc link in my sig and plan your workouts ahead you can make some guesses/attempts ahead of time on the weights you hope to lift for your workout. I have a copy of the below chart printed out in my training log that I take with me to the gym. I dont go by percentages much because that always changes.

 

[Uzi9]

That chart only goes up to 591lbs mudge what good is that to me???

 

[the_leprechaun]

bench

thanks mudge

so i`ll do a max of 8 reps... and adjust my weight according to my max rep
each week..increasing by 5-10 lbs depending how i`m feeling..
just a quick question... if i was working out my maxrep on that calc would i put in 3x10 at 140 pounds which would be 266
or just one set 10 at 140 which would be 182???

 

[Uzi9]

thanks mudge

so i`ll do a max of 8 reps... and adjust my weight according to my max rep
each week..increasing by 5-10 lbs depending how i`m feeling..
just a quick question... if i was working out my maxrep on that calc would i put in 3x10 at 140 pounds which would be 266
or just one set 10 at 140 which would be 182???

182

 

[Mudge]

A maximum is always calculated from a single set, to failure.

So if you squeeze out 11 reps, the other sets dont matter, just 11 reps, and then the weight.

I thought about doing an Excel spreadsheet sometime to fill in the other numbers like for leg use and such, just haven't gotten around to it, and my leg reps are so high that its not much of an issue.